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My heart continued to beat wildly in my chest as Ace gripped my hand, moving us from room to room, making sure no one was here. The place was deserted. There was little furniture. Whoever lived here had done so modestly, or taken anything that mattered with them when they left.
Once Ace was confident that the house was abandoned, he let go of my hand and informed me that he was going to check the plumbing situation.
"No, running water," he said a minute later and went outside.
I took a minute for myself, sitting on the lone stool reflecting on the last several hours. Wow. It was beyond intense. I knew my brother would send a rescue, but I had no idea that my grandfather's guards would chase us so intensely. It made me wonder if it would make a difference to Hades if I didn't survive the rescue. I suspected it didn't, and if I didn't, then he would be free from my grandfather.
I moved to the window and watched Ace as he fiddled with what I suspected was a well. He was bleeding from his arm and was covered in dirt. Staring at him, I felt something I'd never felt before. My heart pattered in my chest. Looking at him hurt. My emotions felt jumbled. I knew what the feeling was even though I'd never felt them before; it was a mix of desire and empathy, and it didn't feel right. My emotions were an imposter that didn't belong in this body. I wasn't supposed to feel. I was always detached from men. I was never the girl to trust blindly and run off with a man. No part of me was supposed to feel aroused by watching the brawny muscles on Ace's bleeding arm contract.
Ace had been calculated in the way he killed, but he was protective of me. He moved in a way that felt like I was his priority. When had I ever been a priority for anyone? I was realizing that I'd been so much less than a priority.
I should have been afraid, given the situation, but fear wasn't what was coursing through me. I briefly thought about those books I'd read and how a hero, just like Ace, would save the day, but I knew that was fiction. I wasn't in a novel. I was running for my life; but this nagging feeling to take advantage of the way I felt was overwhelming.
Tearing my eyes away from Ace, I decided to check and see how filthy I was. I moved to the bathroom, and even though it was dark inside, and the vanity mirror was dirty, I could see how much filth covered me. I reached into my bag and grabbed a new tank top, peeling the soiled one from my body. I heard an intake of breath beside me and found Ace standing there staring at me.
"You move quietly," I nearly whispered at Ace's appearance. I finished putting my shirt on, noticing how Ace's dark eyes seemed to dilate right before he looked away.
"I spent years in the military perfecting quiet. Now, it just comes naturally. I'll try to make myself known, so I don't sneak up on you again." Ace moved past me, crouched low behind the toilet, turning on the water, and waited for the tank to fill. "The water will come out rusty at first, but after a few minutes, it should be enough to let you clean up. Are you okay? Were you injured?"
He looked me over, assessing me for injuries.
"I think I'm okay. But you... you're bleeding." I reached up to move the sleeve of his shirt to get a better look. Ace grabbed my hand, and his fingers stilled against my wrist.
"Your heart is beating fast. You probably still have adrenaline coursing through you. You may crash once you start to come down." The feel of his skin against my wrist raised my heart rate even more.
"I'll keep that in mind. Why don't we take a look at your cut?"
Ace released my wrist and turned on the faucet behind me. Brown water poured down the drain as it sputtered.
"Don't worry about me."
I frowned as Ace left the small space.
Under the sink, there were a few old towels. As the water started to run more clearly, I used one of the towels to wipe the dirt from my face and arms. I reached into my bag for my makeup pouch. Any other time I'd left my house, I wasn't allowed to go without my made-up face. My hand brushed the phone in my bag, and I froze. I didn't have rules right now. It felt freeing to leave my face clean of makeup. A shot of rebellion ran through my veins like a drug. I was free even if the phone in my purse told me my freedom was a facade.
Ace came back into the bathroom and grabbed the other towel. He pulled off his shirt and began to clean the wound on his arm. Scars of all shapes and sizes covered his broad muscular chest and over the defined ridges on his eight pack. Yes eight.
Self-control was a skill I'd mastered long ago, but looking at Ace with my newfound freedom, I couldn't help myself. I reached out and ran my fingertips over a long scar on his chest. He sucked in a lungful of air, gritting his teeth while he did. I could sense that his instinct was to make me stop. But I didn't stop because I was free.
"Alejandra," he said in a low grumbled warning.
I removed my fingers from his skin and took the towel from his hand. He let me.
More Freedom.
I could feel his eyes boring into me as I wiped around his wound.
"It's dirty. We need to disinfect it to make certain that infection doesn't set in."
"That's what I was about to do." He pulled a packet from his bag.
"Let me help."
Ace gave me a nod then gave me instructions on how to mix water with the packet, creating a paste. I tended to his wound and then used the gauze he handed me to wrap it. As I rolled the gauze around his bicep I could see how strong he was and that made my heart rate pick up again. Had it ever slowed?
Securing the gauze in place, I looked up and met Ace's eyes. With adrenaline coursing through me, I decided I might not have my freedom for long. I had this moment with this beautiful man, who had no shirt on, and who made my heart race in a way it had never had before. I took something for myself. Another act of freedom.
I rose up on my tiptoes and, with little thought, pressed my lips against his. They were soft and supple, and tasted the faintest amount of mint. He didn't pull me towards him in a desperate, unbridled , passionate way. He didn't open his lips and let my tongue slide in. Even as my tongue swept out and licked the seam of his lips, he remained calm. I pulled away, but could tell from the way he clenched his fist that he wasn't as restrained as he'd like me to believe.
I pressed my fingers to my lips and whispered, "Thank you."
"Why did you do that?" Ace's voice held a gruffness to it, leading me to believe he was more affected than he let on.
"I wanted to." I stared up at him and let my face become the guarded mask I was used to wearing. "At this very moment, for the first time in my life, I have a freedom I've never felt before. I have never kissed a man of my own free will. We could be captured and never make it out of the jungle. So, with that said, and you being the way you are, I wanted to take something for myself. Even if it's all I'll ever have, at least I took something of my own free will."
Ace's jaw clenched. "I have been in situations far worse than this. We will get out of Colombia. You'll have your freedom. Don't kiss me because you think it might be your last chance to do something."
I patted the side of his face, observing his conviction. He believed what he was telling me. Well, I had one last tidbit to share.
"Not my last chance, Ace. My first."